


Home for Dinner

by Laylah



Category: Persona: Trinity Soul
Genre: Comfort, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-09
Updated: 2010-04-09
Packaged: 2017-10-08 20:03:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/79031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laylah/pseuds/Laylah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Welcome back," Detective Sanada calls from the kitchen. Shin's heart skips a beat, and then he feels silly, because the last person to make him feel like that was Eiko, and she -- well, there are a couple of reasons why that's weird.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Home for Dinner

"I'm home," Shin says, because there's a pair of shoes already lined up neatly in the entryway and a light on further inside the house.

"Welcome back," Detective Sanada calls from the kitchen. Shin's heart skips a beat, and then he feels silly, because the last person to make him feel like that was Eiko, and she -- well, there are a couple of reasons why that's weird. Shin toes out of his shoes and leaves his book bag by the door before he pads inside.

Detective Sanada is standing over the stove, making dinner again, stirring vegetables into a pan full of noodles. He looks up when Shin walks in, and asks, "Jun isn't with you?"

"No," Shin says. "He said he wanted to go visit with Morimoto."

He expects Detective Sanada to say something about that, about how strange it is that Shin didn't want to go too, and visit with a girl his own age. But all the detective says is, "Well, more for us, then," before he goes back to stirring.

Shin stands there and watches him for a minute. "You don't have to do this every time," he says.

"Are you saying you don't like my cooking?" Detective Sanada asks.

"No," Shin protests. His cheeks burn. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't say such rude things. I -- I only meant that we're used to...taking care of ourselves." He busies himself getting dishes out of the cupboard. "Maybe we --" he almost says 'I,' selfishly, but he knows he'd need Jun's help -- "could cook for you the next time you come over."

For a second Detective Sanada looks so hurt that Shin wants to keep apologizing, but then he smiles, looking Shin right in the eyes, and Shin's heart goes fluttery again. "I'd like that," he says. "It's been a long time since I had a friend offer to cook for me."

Shin's cheeks heat again. "Thank you," he says, meaning the fact that Detective Sanada just called him a friend, the fact that he doesn't treat Shin like he's too young, the fact that he's doing his best for Shin and Jun -- and Ryou, too.

Detective Sanada nods. "Food's ready," he says. "Give me your bowl."

They sit down at the table with entirely too much food for only two people, but Shin does his best. Detective Sanada takes dinner very seriously, facing his food like it's a challenge he has to master. He eats enough for a much bigger man, and Shin wonders how he can be so trim with habits like that.

Neither of them talk until they're done eating. Shin manages to empty his bowl, to his own surprise. He supposes he hadn't really had much to eat earlier in the day.

When Detective Sanada starts to clear the dishes away, Shin stops him, gets to the sink first. "Let me wash up," he says. "Thank you for dinner."

Detective Sanada nods like that was a quiz and Shin just gave the right answer. "All right," he says. He still hangs around in the kitchen, though, while Shin washes the dishes. It's sort of comforting and nerve-wracking at the same time, to have him there -- it's nice to have company, but Detective Sanada is so cool that he makes Shin a little nervous, too. Shin keeps his head down and just tries to pay attention to what he's doing, and mostly the detective just lets him be.

"How's your summer break going?" Detective Sanada asks when Shin is setting the last of the dishes in the rack to drain.

"Good," Shin says. "I hope your job is going well," carefully not a question -- not a reason for Detective Sanada to tell him there's no news. He wipes his hands on a dish towel. He takes a deep breath, knows he needs to change the subject, finds himself asking even though this is probably no better -- "Why -- why do you keep coming to look after us? Is it because of Ryou?" He feels like he asked Eiko almost the same thing. The idea of the two of them being similar is too strange.

Detective Sanada doesn't look surprised to be asked. "In part," he says, slowly. "I don't know how I'd face him if anything happened to the brothers he was trying so hard to protect." He shrugs, looking away into the dark of the living room. "But it's more selfish, too, I guess. I'm an orphan, too. I guess it sounded nice, trying to have a sort of normal life for a little bit."

"Yes," Shin says. He puts down the towel he's been twisting in his hands and steps closer, and Detective Sanada doesn't tense up or pull away. When Shin reaches out, Detective Sanada even moves to meet him, and then Shin is hugging him, hard, holding on with all his might. "Yes. It -- it is nice." He's shaking, not so much in his hands as somewhere inside, like it's his heart that shivers, even though that's not possible. "Thank you, detective."

"You know," Detective Sanada says softly, his hands rubbing slow circles on Shin's back, "if we're this good of friends, I think you can probably call me Akihiko."

Shin laughs a little, and then stops when it feels like his throat will close up if he keeps going. "Really?" he says.

"Sure," says Detective Sa -- Akihiko. He cups one hand around the back of Shin's neck, and the leather of his glove is cool and smooth. "Probably not at headquarters, or anything, but at home, why not?"

"Okay," Shin says. He takes a few deep breaths to try to get the shaking to stop. Akihiko smells good. "I think I don't want to let go yet."

Akihiko leans back against the wall, pulling Shin with him. "You comfortable?" he asks. Shin nods against his shoulder. He's not a really big guy, but he feels solid, muscular under the smooth fabric of his fancy shirt. They stand there like that for a while, and Shin closes his eyes to listen to the thump-thump of Akihiko's heart. He doesn't feel so jittery anymore. "So," Akihiko says eventually. "Shin. Is that short for anything?"

"No," Shin says. Akihiko's hands stop for just a second, then go back to the same slow comforting circles. "Why?"

"Just curious," Akihiko says, and Shin can feel him shake his head. Jun's the perceptive one, but even Shin can tell that wasn't a complete answer.

That doesn't matter, though. He can't expect Akihiko to tell him everything all at once. It's enough that he wants to be here, wants to help. Shin leans into his solid, warm strength and breathes deep. Things are going to get better from here.


End file.
